Chapter 5: School meals

37.6 per cent (255,231) of pupils were registered for free school meals (37.8 per cent in 2016).

Of those registered for free school meals and present on the survey day 81.0 per cent took a free meal (81.5 per cent in 2016).

Of those pupils present on the survey day 56.9 per cent took a meal (free or paid for) supplied by the school (58.1 per cent in 2016).

In 2012, a new Healthy Living Survey was introduced which incorporated the old school meals survey and new questions on Physical Education. This is an annual survey, normally collected in February each year, of all publicly funded schools in Scotland. The school meal part of this survey collects information on the uptake of meals, both free and paid for, and registration for and uptake of free school meals. Only meals taken at lunchtime are included. Breakfast clubs are not included. The latest Healthy Living Survey was conducted in the week beginning 20 February 2017.

Information on levels of free school meal registration and school meal uptake is used to monitor the impact of Scottish Government policies around reducing the impact of deprivation and promoting healthy eating. In recent years, the Government has taken actions intended to increase free school meal uptake. These are:

The extension of free school meal eligibility to include all children in P1-P3 from January 2015.

The extension of free school meal eligibility in August 2009 to include children whose parents or carers are in receipt of both maximum child tax credit and maximum working tax credit.

For the purposes of this collection it is assumed that all P1-P3 pupils are registered for free school meals.

In 2017, 37.6 per cent of the total school roll was registered for free school meals, which is similar to the 37.8 per cent registered in 2016. The percentage of pupils present on the survey day who took a meal (free or paid for) supplied by the school decreased from 58.1 per cent in 2016 to 56.9 per cent in 2017 ( Table 9a). The percentage of P1-P3 pupils present on the survey day who took a free school meal decreased from 81.7 per cent in 2016 to 81.2 per cent in 2017. The total number of P1-P3 pupils taking a free school meal decreased by 625 from 134,667 in 2016 to 134,042 in 2017 ( Table 9b).

As the national criteria for free school meal eligibility are largely based on the receipt of benefits, statistics on free school meal registrations from the Healthy Living Survey have been used as a measure of deprivation. However, several factors need to be taken into account when using the statistics in this way, particularly for primary and special schools. See section 7.3.3 of the Background Notes for more information on the use of these statistics as a measure of deprivation.

Table 9a. Number and percentage of pupils taking school meals (free or paid for) and registered taking free school meals by sector, 2012 to 2017

Number

Pupils registered for free meals

2012 a

2013 b

2014 a

2015 c,d

2016

2017

Primary

81,096

81,364

77,791

213,199

212,175

212,235

Secondary

45,077

45,018

44,224

41,744

39,280

38,841

Special

4,304

4,203

4,373

4,498

3,681

4,155

Total

130,477

130,585

126,388

259,441

255,136

255,231

Pupils registered and present taking free meals

Primary

66,464

65,717

63,986

162,799

166,454

165,027

Secondary

26,991

28,249

27,739

26,264

24,811

23,911

Special

3,641

3,576

3,719

3,607

2,899

3,418

Total

97,096

97,542

95,444

192,670

194,164

192,356

Pupils present and taking meals (free or paid for)

Primary

186,081

186,271

192,666

237,404

246,821

246,162

Secondary

110,376

113,587

115,150

111,562

114,586

110,288

Special

5,363

5,204

5,206

4,875

4,511

4,375

Total

301,820

305,062

313,022

353,841

365,918

360,825

Percentage

Percentage of pupils registered for free meals

2012 a

2013 b

2014 a

2015 c,d

2016

2017

Primary

22.1

22.0

20.6

55.3

54.1

53.4

Secondary

15.4

15.5

15.5

15.0

14.2

14.1

Special

60.6

59.4

60.7

63.0

55.7

66.2

Total

19.6

19.6

18.8

38.7

37.8

37.6

Percentage of registered pupils present taking free meals

Primary

89.0

88.4

88.7

80.5

82.7

82.1

Secondary

71.7

74.7

76.6

76.4

73.9

73.4

Special

94.7

94.7

94.8

90.3

89.8

91.3

Total

83.6

84.2

85.0

80.1

81.5

81.0

Percentage of those present taking meals (free or paid for)

Primary

53.2

53.2

53.2

64.6

66.0

65.0

Secondary

41.8

43.7

44.4

44.2

45.8

44.3

Special

83.9

83.1

81.7

78.0

77.7

78.0

Total

48.7

49.5

49.8

56.5

58.1

56.9

a. In 2012 and 2014, primary school free meal registrations were affected by a reduction in the number of local authorities with local initiatives. b. In 2013, the Healthy Living Survey was carried out in March due to publicity around the presence of horse meat in some food products. c. On 5 January 2015, the Scottish Government launched the extension of free school meals eligibility to include all children in P1-P3. d. Figures on percentage uptake that were originally published were amended in June 2016. See background note 7.3.3 for details.

a. In 2012 and 2014, primary school free meal registrations were affected by a reduction in the number of local authorities with local initiatives. b. In 2013, the Healthy Living Survey was carried out in March due to publicity around the presence of horse meat in some food products. c. On 5 January 2015, the Scottish Government launched the extension of free school meals eligibility to include all children in P1-P3. d. Figures on percentage uptake that were originally published were amended in June 2016. See background note 7.3.3 for details.